


079 - Van & Bondy Compete for Your Attention

by storiesaboutvan



Category: Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band)
Genre: Multi, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 04:32:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17440019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesaboutvan/pseuds/storiesaboutvan
Summary: Filling the prompt “Maybe you could do one where Bondy and Van compete for your attention?”





	079 - Van & Bondy Compete for Your Attention

You swung around on the office chair, watching the room spin past in a blur of shape and colour. You could feel it hurting your head a little bit, but it wasn't enough to stop you. You kicked at the ground once more to get more speed. Faster, Faster, then, "Y/N?!"

You stomped your foot to the ground to stop the movement and the inertia almost sent you flying. You looked up at the doorway, dizzy and unfocused. Dave was there. He was standing next to two guys of similar height. One had soft brown hair parted in the middle. He was all sharp bones and blue eyes and long eyelashes. He was watching you with a smirk. The other guy had curls hidden beneath a hat. He wasn't smiling, but his face was gentle; more gentle than the other's. He was wearing a velvet shirt and you wanted to touch it, touch him. Maybe both.

"Hi, Dave," you greeted.

"Van, Johnny, this is Y/N. She's my sister's kid. I'm babysitting her for a couple of weeks," he explained to them.

"I'm twenty-two. You're not babysitting? I'm visiting because you're meant to be my favourite uncle,"

"I'm your only uncle,"

"Yeah? Who are they?"

Dave shook his head at you. "Van and Johnny Bond. Their band is recording here starting next week. Stay out of their way, yeah?"

You looked at Van and Johnny Bond and wondered which was which. Dave Sardy - your uncle - had renovated half his Californian house to be a recording studio. Bands would often come and stay, and usually you found them no more interesting than regular human beings. Never starstruck, never in their way. You wondered why you were warned about these two. Judging by the looks on their faces, they wouldn't exactly be purposefully steering clear of you, though. 

…

You got the lowdown from Larry. He was listed as a guitar tech, but was really there because he was Van's best friend since forever, apparently. They all loved to talk about each other, so it was easy to get information about Van and Johnny Bond - who went by Bondy for the most part. Importantly, neither had girlfriends, and also importantly, you were their type. You were pro at acquiring this information without raising suspicion. Larry thought you were just being friendly.

…

Van was the first to make a move. He found you out on a balcony as the sun was setting. He sat next to you on the outdoor couch, and started to strum at his acoustic guitar. He didn’t say hi. He just started to play. You watched him carefully, trying to make him nervous under your gaze, but it only seemed to encourage him. He sung Laid by James and his voice was gravelly in all the right parts. You could really, really fucking feel it. When he was finished you smiled and shrugged. He smirked, leant in, and kissed you somewhere between neck and jaw. He got up and left you alone.

The next day, like he got to memo too, Bondy appeared in the doorway of the ridiculously huge kitchen. You were trying to work out how to use the coffee machine. He walked across the room to you. His jeans sat low on his hips and he was barefoot. You turned to him and leant back against the counter. Bondy stood close in front of you. He pressed the right buttons and the smell of fresh coffee filled the room. You looked up at him from under your lashes.

"Thanks," you said with calculated softness.

"No problem, babe," he replied and went to walk away.

"Van kissed me when he left last night," you told him quickly. He stopped and turned around, waiting for you to explain. "Just here," you said and pointed to the spot. You shrugged and didn't break eye contact. You could see him thinking, then he crossed the floor, tipped your head up with the back of his hand, and kissed you briefly on the lips. He walked away.

…

A few days later you sat next to Dave in front of the glass window. Van was recording vocals, and as he did you spun on your chair and tried to distract him. He was watching you, but he just seemed to growl out the lyrics better. From behind you the door opened and someone came in and sat on the couch against the back wall. You looked over your shoulder. Bondy was sitting there with his feet up on the coffee table. You looked back at Van, who knew what you were about to do.

You pushed your wheeled office chair across the small room, and transferred yourself to be sitting next to Bondy. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

"I don't think he likes this very much," you leant in and whispered to Bondy. You covered the action with your hand and everything, just to be extra.

As Van continued the recording session, you and Bondy continued to whisper things to each other. By the time Van could come in and take your office chair and listen back to the vocals, there was warmth between your thighs and you were restless. When the song finished playing you stood up suddenly and went to leave the room.

"What do you think of it, Y/N?" Dave asked, oblivious to what was happening. You looked straight into Van's eyes.

"Guess it's alright," and you closed the door behind you.

Hours later, when some of the guys had gone out for dinner and some had retired to their guest rooms to call home, there was a knock on your door. It was Van. You leant against the door frame casually and high fived yourself for already changing into very short pyjama shorts, and a tank top of material so thin you could make out the lines and bumps of your skin underneath. He visibly swallowed hard when he saw you.

"Guess it's alright?" he said. You shrugged. "You're very annoying,"

"Am I?" you asked like you had no idea what he was on about.

"Yes. What's your favourite song?" His tone as he asked the question was the same as when he told you that you were annoying. You thought for a second.

"My Friends by Chili Peppers, I guess,"

"Okay." He stalked off down the hall and was about to disappear around a corner when he stopped. His back was still to you. Seconds ticked by, but you waited it out. He turned around and came stalking back. "I-" he went to say.

"You what?"

"Nothing." He was off again and this time did not come back.

…

The following night, just after midnight, Bondy knocked on your door. You were in the same barely there outfit. "Want to sneak out for a smoke?" he asked. You nodded and followed him out of the house and down the back garden path. You sat cross-legged next to the pool and watched the water sparkle in the moonlight. Bondy put two cigarettes in his mouth, lit them, then handed one to you.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but there was still underlying tension there. You scooted closer and leant your head on his shoulder. "I like your hair," you told him.

"I like your everything," he replied. You angled your head so you could press a kiss to his cheek.

"You can sing too, right?" you asked, and he nodded. "Sing for me?"

He thought for a second, then took another drag on the smoke. It sat between his fingers as he started to sing. His voice was deeper, much deeper than Van's, and there was a hint of humour in it; like he was doing a partly joke voice so he could use it as a defence if you didn't like it. He sang Stand By Me and you wondered what made him chose the song. There was something about the moon, though, that somehow felt like the song, so maybe that was it. You swayed to his rhythm and when he finished you sat up and clapped. He took a sitting bow.

"Think we should kick Van out of the band?" he asked, grinning. You nodded and smiled wide.

"Okay… I dare you to… jump into the pool in your clothes," you said. You said sing and he did. If you said jump, would he? Bondy looked at and shook his head. "Please? Van-"

"Van would, I know. Van's a fucking puppy though," Bondy replied laughing.

"Yes. I love it. Jump."

Bondy considered it for a few seconds more, then stood, took everything out of his pockets and put them in his hat, then handed it to you. He looked at the water, back at you, then jumped. The splash got you and you squealed in delight. You watched him surface and grin. You uncrossed your legs and moved closer to the edge of the pool, putting your legs into the water. You held his possessions still, to ensure he'd not pull you in. He swam to you and stayed above water by holding your legs either side of him.

"Happy?" he asked, and you nodded. The far-reaching outdoor light came on then.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?" Benji asked as he walked down the path. He was followed by Larry and Van.

You looked at Van as you said, "Nothing," in a voice that implied you were definitely doing something.

…

It was a Saturday and you were still in bed. A knock on your door, and you invited them in. Van closed the door behind him and came and sat on your bed, cross-legged. He wasn't yet dressed, still in track pants and a t-shirt he slept in. He sat his guitar in his lap and looked at you. You stayed beneath the blankets, but moved to be able to watch him closely. You smiled.

He took a breath in, then started the song. It was My Friends, and he sang it beautifully. He was trying to impress you, yeah, but there was also a great respect in his voice for the song itself. Your nose started to tingle like it did whenever you were about to cry. You pushed the emotions back and focused on other things. You watched Van's fingers spider along the guitar and wondered what it would feel like to have those fingers run along your spine… between your thighs. You watched him lick his lips between lines, and wondered what his tongue would feel like on your skin too. He finished and gently placed the guitar on the floor next to your bed. You didn't really know what to say.

"Can I come in?" he asked and pointed to the space next to you. You nodded and lifted the blanket for him to get in. You both laid on your sides, looking at each other. "What's the plan?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Bondy likes you. I like you. It's… It's gonna stop being fun pretty soon," he explained. You liked that the thought it was fun to begin with. Truthfully, you'd not thought beyond the flirting. They'd be finished the album soon and be back in the U.K., then on tour forever. Despite what you told them, their music was wonderful and you were sure they'd be pretty big very soon. That life never interested you much.

"It only has to keep being fun until you all leave,"

"Then it's over?"

"Yeah. Even if proper emotion was involved, it would be too weird. You know what I mean?"

"Proper emotion," Van repeated like it was a joke. Of course he had proper emotion. Bondy probably did too.

"So maybe the plan is to stop. All of it? Just be friends with you both?"

Van looked at you and said nothing. Clean and well slept, he was beautiful. You wanted to rearrange the freckles on his face into patterns. You wanted to kiss him hard. You thought then, that the same was true for Bondy. You wanted to wrap his curls around your fingers and pull. You wanted to bring him to his knees. Van was right. There was no way it could end well.

You rolled out of bed and looked for a hoodie. Van sat up. When you pulled more clothes on you motioned for him to follow you. You walked through the hallways to Bondy's room. He was already up and somewhere else. You found him sitting on a balcony with Bob, drinking coffee.

"Hey, Bond, can I talk to you for a sec?" you asked. Bob stood and made a face that you recognised from the time you all watched the Cash Me Outside girl on Dr Phil. Drama face. You pointed at the empty seat and Van sat. "I'm sorry," you announced.

"You've not done anything-" Bondy went to say.

"I know. I've not done anything wrong, but, I've not done anything right either, really. I don't know how to… like… not make this a thing. Fuck,"

"This is making it a thing," Bondy said.

"I know. I fucking know," you replied. Van stood and put his hands on your shoulders.

"It's alright, Y/N. We get it. Yeah? We'll stop…" he paused, looked back at Bondy and shrugged. Maybe they had talked about this before? Bondy nodded at Van. "We'll leave you alone."

You didn’t want them to leave you alone. You could feel your heart racing and you were already regretting this. You should have played dumb and let them kiss your face and sing you songs until you had to part. Now you'd be stuck with them for a week and a bit in a weird in-between state.

…

When your bags were packed you put them by the front door. You were leaving early. The conversation with Van and Bondy hours before unsettled you and you didn't want to stay. You told Dave some shit about there being an early uni course. He bought it. You were doing a final check of your room to make sure you'd not forgotten anything when there was a knock at the door. Your stomach flipped with anxiety. You opened to Van and Bondy.

"Thought we were good?" Bondy said immediately. You walked backwards and let them in. Van sat on your made bed, and Bondy paced a bit. You sat next to Van.

"I feel weird," you said quietly. You never wanted them to see you… like… feel things? Real things? Van rested his head on your shoulder and took your hand.

"We don't want you to go," he said. "How can we make you not feel weird?"

"I don't know, Van, you probably can’t…" your sentence trailed off unresolved. There was a second, then Bondy crossed the room and leant over you. He cupped your face in his hands and kissed you. Van sat up straighter but didn't move from your side or take his hand from yours. It took you a moment to realise you were being kissed. When the penny dropped, you kissed back. When Bondy took the few steps back to break the kiss you watched him move with a frown on your face. He chuckled. Another second, then you looked at Van. He was looking for emotion in your face but you didn't know what you were meant to feel, because you weren't quite sure what was happening. Your head tilted to the side a little, in confusion, then Van's free hand was around the back of your neck pulling you in. He kissed you too and it took less time to react. His mouth was hot and you wondered if he could taste his friend on your lips.

When it stopped, you said, "What the fuuuuuuuuuck." They laughed. "No. No laughing." You stood up. "This doesn't make anything easier. Probably makes it more weird. Did you plan this? What the fuck is that conversation anyway? 'Oh hey mate do you want to go kiss the same girl so we can make her stay and continue this weird flirty threesome thing?' Is that what happened? Oh my god. I hate you both," you kept pacing.

"You really don't hate us," Bondy said.

"And you're staying, yeah?" Van asked hopefully.

You looked at them. Yeah. Of course you were staying.


End file.
